Closterkeller

In raven swirls of guitar-heavy gothic industrial, Closterkeller’s new album intrigues but never totally enchants. The record has a lot of metal attitude, songs like "He Comes When the Nightfalls” upping the dark count to high and others like title track "Nero” or "Mirage” weaving in threads of eerie black magic. Front-woman Anja Orthodox has a rich, deep velvet voice that resonates with the same sable textures that steep Nero in goth-ness. Apparently Closterkeller’s latest work appeared in a Polish version before this all-English recording and the band enlisted aid for the lyric translations. Without both versions for a comparison test, Nero for the international market must stand alone, atmosphere and Orthodox’s siren song carrying the brunt of the burden to mesmerise. It’s easily enough to make the disc worth spinning, but how many times?